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I'm a writer, living in Bristol in the UK. I've had a handful of short stories published but I'm still working on that Holy Grail for fiction writers- securing a literary agent. So, if you're an agent or have an Auntie, Uncle, second cousin, best friend who is one...

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Exploring fictional worlds in a flash

About

A house of books, decades of boredom and a Tudor sixpence brought me here.

One thing we had a lot of in our house when I was a kid was books. My mum read everything: Dickens, Austen, Cookson, Collins, picture books on Ancient Egypt and Danish bog bodies. And so- spurred on by fits of boredom so painful they’d melt your face- did I.

I wrote a lot right into my teens- mainly blood-splattered, horror-stuffed schlock. But then I dropped out of college and into a job measuring mature ladies for corsets and the writing dried up. I left the corsets for hairdressing, left hairdressing for floristry, but after fourteen years my old friend boredom resurfaced and I decided to retrain.

I got my BA as the financial manure hit the global fan and found no one wanted a newly qualified Art History lecturer. A small piece of metal saved my sanity.

My husband bought me a Tudor sixpence for my birthday. In the year it was struck, my coin had been a skilled workman’s daily wage. After a hard day’s graft that man could’ve strolled across London Bridge towards Southwark, and blown the lot on a posh seat at the Globe Theatre. I imagined it jangling in the craftsman’s purse, the smell of small beer splashed on rushes, the slaughterhouse whiff of tallow candles.

I began to write a story about a girl who travels back in time using that coin.

My writing was awful, punctuation terrible, everything overwritten and flooded with adjectives. But I studied, wrote more, read more, wrote and read and… I’m getting there. One day that story will be published.

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68 thoughts on “About”

Hey,
I’ve nominated you for the Very inspiring blogger award. You may see it here: https://shrutiinsights.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/im-happy-and-i-know-it/
If you choose to accept, which I hope you will you need to follow 4 rules. 1. Thank the blogger who nominated you. 2. List the rules and display the award. 3. Share seven facts about yourself. 4. Nominate (15) other amazing blogs and comment on their blog to let them know you nominated them.
Keep writing and inspiring,
Shruti

No disappointment here! One of the most moving books I’ve read in recent years is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness about a young lad whose mum has cancer and who is visited one night by a tree monster … Amazing book. Made me cry. I recommend the illustrated version – the pictures are by Jim Kay – very dark and so beautiful. I would gladly recommend to anyone.
Thanks for the tip – I will definitely look out for it 🙂

It’s good to keep up with what’s happening in the kids department. I had a collection of good children’s picture books, but I ended up giving them all to one of my grandcsons a couple of tears ago. Have you ever read “Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus”? It’s hilarious.

No, I haven’t, though I remember ‘Aliens love underpants’ fondly from when my son was younger. I found having a kid a good excuse to revisit some much loved classics – Where the Wild Things are, the Meg and Mog books, Winnie the Pooh … Unfortunately, as an independant reader he’s more The Hunger Games than The Dark is Rising (my personal obsession when I was an adolescent). Not that the Hunger Games is a bad book at all.

I liked all of the first four books you mentioned. I grew up with A.A.Milne books. From the age of 9 I gave up childrens books, and started reading what my parents read, but at 12 and 13 then reverted to adolescent ghost and horror stories. I don’t remember what they were, but I expect they were awful, though I think my obsession began with The Monkey’s Paw by W.W.Jacobs.

I turned to reading some gruesime stuff for a while too – Clive Barker, James Herbert, Dean Koontz, Stephen King. I think the only one of those I’d have time for now is Stephen King, but then he is a cut above. I became jaded by the gratuitous gore and pain of it all – too much of that in real life to read it as entertainment.

It look as if, like me, you hacve decided that your blog is award free. Could you confirm or deny that, please – I’ve come up with an idea for a silly post, and want to know where to put you in it – it’s ok, I won’t be asking you to do anything tiresome…

Sorry, Jane, only just saw this today. I was nominate for something back in February I think – and confess I took part. Then was nominated for other stuff and declined graciously. They’re a bit chain-letter-ish, aren’t they? Will pop over to Making it Write and have a look now. Sorry if my late reply has mucked things up for you

Since we are approaching mutual admiration society status, I thought i’d visit here and say hello.
And tell you how much I enjoy both your writing and your comments.
You are now firmly in my mind as ‘always a pleasure’.
Thank you.

Writing is theunending art of changes, forever dreaming of creating a believable world where there was none. Maybe this is why most writers are crazy. Or at least on their way to that destination. Nice blog.

Hi Lynn! I have just discovered your website and wanted to say that I love your positive attitude. I laughed at the last paragraph: “everything overwritten and flooded with adjectives”, because I think that’s what happens to all writers at first, till we master the craft. But it is such a beautiful process. I enjoyed your posts very much.

Hi Florencia. Thank you so much for the lovely comment and for taking the time to read some of my posts. You’re right, many of us tend to overload or prose, especially at the beginning. It’s taken me a long time to improve mine but I’m gradually improving. Writing a lot really helps! Thank you again and I hope you’re enjoying your own writing journey